Max Caffe

You know, I’ve come here quite a few times, with different friends and I feel Max Caffe just does not like customers.
This establishment is quaint in atmosphere. It’s half café, half restaurant. I love the chai latte but the menu could use some work. They don’t have a large breakfast menu for brunches and the paninis are only okay. One time I found a hair in my food at dinner. They let me get something else but it was still disturbing. I decided I would only use them for their chai lattes…
This establishment is near Columbia University, so a lot of students come to study for a few hours, and it’s evident the staff hates it (even when they are not busy). I’ve come in to meet friends and the waitress will ask what I want, and when I tell her just a chai, she lingers there longer and then says, «IS THAT IT?»
I went with my book club and we had the back room to ourselves. Despite two of us ordering multiple items and meals, we had one girl who didn’t want to purchase anything, and they demanded that she did. They should feel lucky with chose to give them our business to them. Well, it WILL NOT be happening again.
The entire wait staff is just awkward and others are rude.

My favorite coffee shop around upper west side of Manhattan. The caffe has an European feel, nice décor, and it always filled with lazy students, crazy professors and starving artists who needs free wifi service.

I love this place for the atmosphere. It is so cozy and eclectic and inviting. Seems like the perfect place to get your morning coffee while reading a newspaper or book. I went in the afternoon during winter break and there was plenty of seating. The cappuccino tasted good and came with a biscotti. I brought an out of towner here and she loved it. I did not get to try the food. Prices seemed moderate.

I really like this place. If you are looking for a homey place, this is it.
Often I’ll put on my headphones and stay for hours and the service always is attentive to when I ask for something.
The usual for me is 2 cappuccinos and a chicken panini.

Great café.
Enjoy the great staff and great eats.
Very simple, but very effective…

I like the vibe but the coffee and food are just okay. The service is also lacking. Also, they have a credit card minimum so if you don’t plan on spending more than $ 10, be sure to bring cash!

The décor is very pretty. Dining here at night is a very relaxing experience that in large part is due to the wonderful furniture arrangement and warm, homey atmosphere.
The panini sandwiches are very well made and of high quality, and are unique in that they are actually worth the price ($ 9-​$ 11). I’d recommend the chicken-​mango panini as well as the parma panini, though you can’t go wrong with any of the other selections.
Many of the other sandwiches on the menu are very basic, though worded in a fancy enough way to make you think you’re getting more than, say, ham and cheese on white bread. Such a sandwich would run you about $ 7. A couple of simple crostini (topped with olive tapenade or fig/​goat cheese spread, to name a few) go for $ 5.50. Not worth it for the sake of its flavor alone, but many times I’ve shelled out the money anyway, just to stay in the nice ambiance a little bit longer.
The empanada selection changes daily ($ 7 for 3), and they are not at all like the authentic deep-​fried pockets of meat/​cheese you might have encountered before. They are baked (and often not re-​heated all the way through), stuffed with fillings that tend to be one-​dimensional in flavor regardless of whether you get vegetables, ham/​cheese, etc. Wouldn’t recommend em.
I stay away from the salads as they are (I hate to say it) a blatant rip-​off. A friend was very disappointed with the size of his $ 10 caprese salad. Three slices of tomato, basil, and cheese do not justify that kind of price. Only once have I made the mistake of spending almost $ 11 on a handful of arugula and tomato topped with a few slices of chicken and balsamic. It’ll leave you hungry and prone to rationalizing the idea of spending 6 more bucks on toasted bread and a thin layer of Brie.
As for beverages — stick with the complimentary tap water! The soda is $ 4 if I remember correctly, and comes in a small glass bottle that is a couple oz. less than a can. Mine tasted stale, which is probably due to hardly anyone ordering this overpriced beverage.
Service is very nice, but on many occasions I noticed only one waitress is on staff despite it being almost a packed house. The management should look into scheduling 2 – 3 servers nightly, as it ends up being a disservice both to the single waitress on staff and to the 30+ customers she has to address in a timely fashion.

So far I’ve been here twice I could literally stay here for hours with their comfy sofas and throw pillows. Today I had a salami cheese platter with a glass of Sangria. Scrumptious

I usually get the avocado and goat cheese crostini, which comes with a small salad, so I like that a lot. It might be a bit nicer if it weren’t so creamy and if it had a few chunks of avocado in there, but alas.
I got the prosciutto and mozzarella panini today, which was awesome! The chai latte was also quite lovely.
The atmosphere was quite chill and the waitress who served us was so sweet, albeit a bit slow to bring the check, check up on us, etc.

This is a very popular joint on Columbia’s campus. It has a very nice lounging atmosphere — extremely casual seating (outdoor and indoor). It’s a great place to have meetings or even just reconnect with old friends.
The prices are bit up, as they always are in this area, but honestly, the staff makes up for it because they are extremely kind. You can also sit there for as long as you wish, which I can’t say about many places.

Great food, good prices, especially for happy hour. They could have better service, and I wish they had the same happy hour every day :).

Great lounging couches, Bohemian atmosphere and quite European in every regard. This is a hang out spot and wonderful place to relax or read.
Food is slightly above average and fresh ingredients help boost a notch.

One of my fave NYC spots — it’s one of the few places you can relax. Casual, sofas, etc. Good place to hang out for a few hours or have an intimate conversation.
Downsides: no free refills, sometimes slow service, very spotty WiFi.

Great terrace, great staff, below-​average food with the tiniest brunch portions ever. My goat cheese/​spinach salad has one tiny slice of goat cheese (think dollar-​coin size) and half of a cherry tomatoe. Has great potential to serve good and flavorful food and cater to the Morningside community. Better place to hang out and study than to go eat.

I enjoyed the food and service, but this unfortunately caters to the university crowd in a neighborhood on the cusp between university and the rest of us. The prices are high for this part of town, the music is too loud, and the place is too ragged for the upscale, hipster vibe it is trying to project. On the flip side, the food was actually quite good, the place is cozy, and this neighborhood has few café, breakfast, etc. options, so there is appeal. I would consider coming here regularly if the prices were 10−15% lower.

Max Caffe is a nice place to sit and work! The food and drinks are pretty good as well and there’s free wifi — yey!
The only things that bugged me a little bit was the fact that it’s pretty crowded due to all the Columbia students hanging out here, and I thought it was really cold because they left the door open all day :/​I even asked them to close it which they did for an hour or so, before keeping it open again.

Dear Ms. Mean Waitress,
Drop your attitude while I treat you like a human being. No matter how wonderful your space is, it doesn’t matter if a customer feels crappy after interacting with you.

Eh — only thing that comes to mind. I’d heard this place was a great study spot, but it’s cluttered, crowded, and dark. The food is fine — but it’s the kind of food you could make at home in 20 minutes. I ordered chicken parm and it was literally chicken, marinara, a slice of mozz, and a few basil leaves. No extra, no creativity.
I haven’t tried their drinks though — so there’s a very real chance I haven’t experienced the best of what they offer. I will say that the service is not particularly fast or great.
There’s nothing terribly objectionable, nor compelling. A solid 3 or 2.5 stars place.

The best reason to come here is the atmosphere: colorful, thrifty décor with cozy couches and an outdoor seating area. They have free wifi which is occasionally spotty but overall a great study spot during the day. In the early evening, take advantage of their beer and wine happy hour!
Hot cappuccinos are good, although their iced lattes inexplicably come with foamed milk (hot milk + ice and espresso??). I’ve also enjoyed all the food I’ve gotten here: avocado goat cheese crostini, frittata of the day, grilled chicken panini, and Greek yogurt with fresh fruit.
Minus one star for the service, which can be veery slow (they seem short staffed during peak hours).

Max Caffe is a decent spot for a salad or sandwich. Like all restaurants in the Columbia area, it’s not so special but it was convenient. It was also quite cramped inside the restaurant and we didn’t really have much room to sit. I felt quite squeezed in.
I had the Turkey Fig Panino (turkey, spinach, fig & goat cheese spread). I don’t like turkey though so I asked if I could replace the turkey with prosciutto and they were fine with that. So the prosciutto was good but I didn’t really taste the fig at all in the spread. The sandwich came with a little salad which was nice. Overall it was okay but not really worth $ 10.95 and it was not memorable.
The search for a good restaurant near Columbia continues!